Long term LR3/Discovery 3 build for everyday life
- Thread starter MrWesson
- Start date
Update.
LR3 is doing great and have put about 5,000 miles on her since last post.
Haven't done too much wheeling because its been hot but the weather is starting to ease up a bit.
Issues i've had.
AC compressor went out(knew it was noisy at purchase)
I replaced a wheel bearing because of play(wasn't making noise or affecting drivability).
The bushings need replacing but that's more or less maintenance.
Thats it really i've been daily driving it everyday and using it to tow my boat every weekend(tows like a dream).
Some footage from a trip I took last weekend running from the hurricane. Since I was in Atlanta I hit sheeps wallow trail but my GF was so freaked out I couldn't get much in the way of footage.
Here's a general testing of limitations at a rock quarry.
Pic hooked up to the boat.
At this point i've decided to keep it long term and show it some love. I plan on replacing suspension bushings and arms ASAP, Upgrade the brakes and maybe some protection (front bumper, sliders, rear bumper) but i'm hesitant to add the weight.
LR3 is doing great and have put about 5,000 miles on her since last post.
Haven't done too much wheeling because its been hot but the weather is starting to ease up a bit.
Issues i've had.
AC compressor went out(knew it was noisy at purchase)
I replaced a wheel bearing because of play(wasn't making noise or affecting drivability).
The bushings need replacing but that's more or less maintenance.
Thats it really i've been daily driving it everyday and using it to tow my boat every weekend(tows like a dream).
Some footage from a trip I took last weekend running from the hurricane. Since I was in Atlanta I hit sheeps wallow trail but my GF was so freaked out I couldn't get much in the way of footage.
Here's a general testing of limitations at a rock quarry.
Pic hooked up to the boat.
At this point i've decided to keep it long term and show it some love. I plan on replacing suspension bushings and arms ASAP, Upgrade the brakes and maybe some protection (front bumper, sliders, rear bumper) but i'm hesitant to add the weight.
bentonrover
Observer
Looks great
Some updates.
Replaced some parts i'd consider wear items.
The rear 2 upper control arms are rusted and the bushings shot.
Outer tie rod
I had what i'd call a major failure while off roading in N.GA. The front passenger axle shaft shattered at the hub and I learned something very important to all LR3 owners.. If this happens you wont be moving or parking. This is a cheap part but the repair is not what i'd call trail friendly.
If this happens to you.
Tip 1. Put the vehicle in low range/Rock Crawl.
Tip 2. Don't go faster than 15mph(tough on Mountain Hwys)
Tip 3. Lock the suspension in access mode.
Tip 4. Try not to turn.
Tip 5. Don't let it happen to you.
This happened to land rover during a desert race and they couldn't fix it and it had to be towed.
Front passenger tends to be the culprit(well documented) due to its longer length and 2 joints. I suggest that you check for play at every oil change(or before taking a long trip) and if your LR3 has higher mileage I suggest pulling the boots and greasing the Joints/Balls inside the cage pictured below as 5 and 6. This is one of the few things that can leave you stranded in the LR3(most of its reliability issues are just annoying).
Here's some fun stuff.
Compilation of 1st year off road stuff
Replaced some parts i'd consider wear items.
The rear 2 upper control arms are rusted and the bushings shot.
Outer tie rod
I had what i'd call a major failure while off roading in N.GA. The front passenger axle shaft shattered at the hub and I learned something very important to all LR3 owners.. If this happens you wont be moving or parking. This is a cheap part but the repair is not what i'd call trail friendly.
If this happens to you.
Tip 1. Put the vehicle in low range/Rock Crawl.
Tip 2. Don't go faster than 15mph(tough on Mountain Hwys)
Tip 3. Lock the suspension in access mode.
Tip 4. Try not to turn.
Tip 5. Don't let it happen to you.
This happened to land rover during a desert race and they couldn't fix it and it had to be towed.
Front passenger tends to be the culprit(well documented) due to its longer length and 2 joints. I suggest that you check for play at every oil change(or before taking a long trip) and if your LR3 has higher mileage I suggest pulling the boots and greasing the Joints/Balls inside the cage pictured below as 5 and 6. This is one of the few things that can leave you stranded in the LR3(most of its reliability issues are just annoying).
Here's some fun stuff.
Compilation of 1st year off road stuff
Victory_Overland
Explorer
Great write up and advice.
More problems in paradise unfortunately.
Noticed a grinding sound under the bay but couldn't locate it and not long after(10 miles) the water pump gave up the ghost. Had to get it towed.
I also had a shimmy that after further inspection was a broken SWAY BAR.. Not the mount but the actual sway bar had rusted at the mount and gave way.
I'm in the middle of replacing the pump now and will have to find a sway bar. To be honest i'm a bit sour on the LR3 right now and it has been down for over a week because I don't want to wrench on it.
If I have another failure I will be forced to part ways with it.
Noticed a grinding sound under the bay but couldn't locate it and not long after(10 miles) the water pump gave up the ghost. Had to get it towed.
I also had a shimmy that after further inspection was a broken SWAY BAR.. Not the mount but the actual sway bar had rusted at the mount and gave way.
I'm in the middle of replacing the pump now and will have to find a sway bar. To be honest i'm a bit sour on the LR3 right now and it has been down for over a week because I don't want to wrench on it.
If I have another failure I will be forced to part ways with it.
Aren't these things that can fail on any vehicle? Especially on something 10+ years old.
Was it the sway bar or just the sway bar link? That is a lot of steel to rust through if it was the actual bar.
I was shocked but it's the actual sway bar.. I'll take some pictures later.
Good point about the water pump and its what I told myself when it happened. Unfortunately it is a cascading level of failing parts at this point. If I can't get 5,000 trouble free miles after this I'm going to jump ship.
How long have you had it? Don't get tired of dirt in your eyes and busted knuckles?
Keep in mind i've only got about 10,000 miles of ownership in this thread(or less).
I'd have to dig back through your old posts, but I seem to remember you got this rig really cheap, right? Like $7500? Maybe less?
I think that's the root of your problems. That and living in the rust zone I suppose re: swaybar failure.
A friend of mine recently saw an LR3 for sale with an asking price of $4500 in Sacramento. He was unable to connect with the seller and was upset he missed it. My comment? "you don't want a $4500 LR3 anyway".
I see these things going pretty cheap, under $10K, fairly regularly now. But I'd hesitate to buy one of those bottom dollar rigs. There may be some deals to be had, but there are far more booby traps waiting than there are winners in that price range.
The $12-15K range seems to be where the good trucks are these days, with the $15K stuff being the top shelf.
I think that's the root of your problems. That and living in the rust zone I suppose re: swaybar failure.
A friend of mine recently saw an LR3 for sale with an asking price of $4500 in Sacramento. He was unable to connect with the seller and was upset he missed it. My comment? "you don't want a $4500 LR3 anyway".
I see these things going pretty cheap, under $10K, fairly regularly now. But I'd hesitate to buy one of those bottom dollar rigs. There may be some deals to be had, but there are far more booby traps waiting than there are winners in that price range.
The $12-15K range seems to be where the good trucks are these days, with the $15K stuff being the top shelf.
ColoDisco
Explorer
I've had mine for a year, put on about 11,000 miles and put roughly $2300 in parts into it including my tires. I bought it for $8288 knowing it would need more money put into it and am doing it happily. If you knew me you would also know I'm a Land Rover tech, have owned 3 other disco's prior to this one and walked in with my eyes open. Busting my knuckles on my trucks is a pleasure because they have provided me with amazing off-road experiences including visiting locations I probably never would have seen without them. They still all cost me less than a fully setup JK, or Toyota.
What I didn't say is I had a budget of about 15k, looked at a half dozen trucks and decided to buy the one for $7,500. North florida isn't exactly the rust belt but this truck did have some.
The others had separate but IMO bigger issues and at a higher cost but there's some truth in what you're saying. I'd say that number is around 10k these days though.
I always find that funny. I recently rode with a Jeep club and put a nice dent in my door(root got me in a off camber ditch) and the gasps and oohs/ahhs. Even though I tell them the JK guys can't wrap their head around how much cheaper my rig is.
I may go back and edit this thread because I may have just overracted due to being irritated at it for a week straight. I will also say that I did the water pump without removing the fan(stupid should have bought a tool) adding to my frustration/cut up hands.
